Member of the Legislative Council in the NSW Parliament, Justin Field, says:
"If you've read the headlines or listened to the news in the last 48 hours you'd be forgiven for thinking the lead recommendation of the 6 month long inquiry into the NSW Bushfires was that landholders will be forced to conduct hazard reductions burns to reduce catastrophic bushfire risks - this IS NOT A RECOMMENDATION and it is not in the report.
"Unfortunately the initial media reporting, some of it before the report was even released publicly, has misconstrued some of the key facts and findings and framed much of the public discussion of the report.
"I raised this in the parliament because we should all think about how and why this happened.
"How did multiple news outlets across almost all channels/stations and mastheads report the same misleading 'facts' about the reports recommendation? How did many report it before the inquiry report was published? Who was pitching this false version of the report to news outlets before the report was published? And what was their motivation?
Mr Field said "We have some clue because we know some in politics and industry have spent the time since the fires trying to focus the blame on the environment, at National Parks, and nature. They've tried to distract from the role of climate change, of the cuts to firefighters and land managers, of the increased fire risks presented by logging and the disturbance and fracturing of mature forests.
"This detailed, considered report made 76 important recommendations. The truth about bushfire risk, how we manage bushfire risk to keep people and properties safe, how we protect the environment that was burnt so badly and how we build more resilient communities to respond and adapt to increasing fire risk is complex.
"The report does a good job of capturing that complexity. It's recommendations are equally complex, including as they relate to the role and limitations of hazard reduction, including through burning.
"Do yourself a favour and read the report in full to understand the scary challenge ahead of us. It is not a challenge we will succeed at by simplifying and distorting complex truths."
https://www.dpc.nsw.gov.au/assets/dpc-nsw-gov-au/publications/NSW-Bushfire-Inquiry-1630/Final-Report-of-the-NSW-Bushfire-Inquiry.pdf
